Every Rose Has It's Thorn
by crisco384
Summary: Jack Sparrow sets off to reclaim the Black Pearl and Anamaria, with the help of his old friend Nicholas Pennyfeather and Pennyfeather's crew. But will Nick ever forgive Jack for marooning him all those years ago? I know, the summary stinks but the story's
1. Awakening

**Pirates of the Caribbean**

**A Dragon's Rose**

**(Disclaimer-I don't own any POTC stuff, just my own creations)**

**Chapter 1**

**Awakening**

Jack Sparrow crawled aboard the giant ship, dripping wet. Four faces looked down on him. The first was a woman with green eyes and long, fiery red hair. She was dressed in a green tunic, beige pants, and black leather boots. Next to her was a man who looked to be her younger brother, judging by the messy red hair that half-covered the identical green eyes. This one was wearing a red turncoat and boots like his sister.

Next to the two redheads was a very fat man who was bald and had golden sideburns and a mustache. The last of the four standing over Jack looked very familiar. He was old, and had the appearance of being drunk. As Jack suddenly smelled the rum on the man's breath, he knew he was right. The man was dressed in a brown tricorn hat and a heavy jacket of the same color. His dirty blonde hair hung about his face in a sloppy sort of way.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't Jack Sparrow," said the last man. Jack opened his mouth as if to say something, but the man interrupted.

"I'm sorry; it's _Captain _Jack Sparrow, isn't it?" Jack nodded, a curious grin on his face.

"So where's the stash?" asked Jack, fiddling with his dreadlocks.

"What?"

"The rum. Where's all the rum?" The four shipmates laughed. The old man stepped back a little.

"Ye be the same as last time, Jack Sparrow," said the man.

"Last…time?" said Jack. He was starting to get very confused now.

"Yes, last time. When you marooned me and stole my ship, shortly after we found and stole Captain Kidd's gold."

"…Captain Nicholas Pennyfeather! How are ye, you old scurvy dog?" said Jack in a cheery tone. Hopefully a friendly conversation would help Pennyfeather decide not to slit his throat on the spot.

"Oh, we're doing just fine, Jack. How about you?" said Pennyfeather with a smile. He had forgiven him! Or at least, he had better have forgiven him, or else the captain of the Black Pearl was doomed. Jack hadn't forgotten Pennyfeather's unusual thirst for revenge.

Jack told him the whole story, how the _Black Pearl_ had been stolen by the evil, cruel, sinister villain (or at least that's how Jack described him) Captain John O'Malley, who was in charge of the pirating ship the _Prophet_. He failed to mention how his beloved Anamaria had also been taken, and that was the second main reason he wanted to go after O'Malley. Jack somehow felt that this was not the right time to bring that up.

"Well, alright Captain Sparrow. Ye can stay aboard the Dragon's Rose until we get your ship back. This is my crew. The girl is Anne, and Fred is her brother. The big one over here is Briggs. Anne is me first mate, Fred is helmsman, and Briggs is our gunner. Obviously, I'm the captain," said Captain Pennyfeather. He led Jack over to a door. He flung the door open, and pointed inside.

"This'll be your room, Jack. We'll start sailing to Tortuga tonight. Before you get to sleep, let me explain one thing to you," said the old man. Jack turned.

"And what would that be, Nick?"

"This is my ship. My ship, my rules. You are not to try to take charge, nor make any attempt at mutiny again. If you get on me bad side, I'll have Briggs here throw you off the starboard side," said Pennyfeather with a sneer. Briggs cracked his knuckles, and then went to start cleaning his cannons. Jack gulped. Oh yes, the captain was definitely still pretty mad.

"Welcome to the Dragon's Rose, Jack," said Anne with a wink. Jack smiled sheepishly. Well, the trip wouldn't be all that bad. He heard two clicks, and then turned around. Frederick stood behind him, two flintlock pistols drawn and armed. Just now did Jack realize that Fred was bristling with pistols, four in a bandolier across his chest, one on each leg, and a musket on his back.

"Stay away from me sister, Sparrow," said Fred in a drawling British accent. Jack pivoted to face him, hands held up.

"I'm sorry, I suppose she's yours?" Uh oh. A snarl suddenly appeared on Fred's face. Once again, Jack's mouth had gotten him into trouble. Briggs stepped in the way before the young redhead could slaughter Jack.

"Don't hurt him; yet," said Briggs. Jack put his hands in a praying form and mouthed the words 'thank-you'. Briggs snorted and walked away. Well, at least the gunner was half on Jack's side. Fred put his pistols away, and started to walk away. When he came towards Jack, he faked a punch. Jack flinched, and about fell backwards. Laughing, Fred walked up to the helm.

"Nicholas! Is it natural for young Frederick to want to kill me?" said Jack, still a bit startled. Pennyfeather stuck his head out of his room.

"Eh? Oh, yes, it runs in their family, Anne is much the same. Except she uses knives instead of guns and she's a lot worse," said the captain. Jack sat down on a barrel, his head in his hands. He was in for a wild ride.


	2. Tortuga, Dexter, and Alley

**Chapter 2**

**Tortuga, Dexter, and Alley**

"Wake up, you lazy, useless twit!" shouted Pennyfeather. The angry captain dumped a bucket of water on Jack's head. Jack sprung up, shaking his head rapidly.

"Bloody water! What was that for!" said Jack, now awoken and angry. Pennyfeather smiled.

"On my ship, every single crew member wakes up at dawn. If not, you pay the consequences," said the captain. He no doubt found Jack's distress hilarious. Jack wiped his face.

"Alright, alright, I'm up now, thanks to you." Sparrow got out of bed and out the door. Fred was on the side of the ship, looking out at the town. Briggs was with him. Anne, on the other hand, was busy yelling out commands at the other pirates. One yelled back. That did not sit well with the first mate. She swiftly whipped out two knives and chased the sailor around the deck for a while, and then finally just pushed him overboard.

"Ye done?" said Pennyfeather. Anne nodded.

"Let's just get on land as soon as we're ready," she said. Jack rolled his eyes.

"Yes, please," he said. Pennyfeather walked off the ship and onto the streets of Tortuga. Fred, Briggs, Anne, Jack, and the now soaking wet sailor (who's name was Justin) followed him. The Dragon's Rose captain slowly pivoted around to face the crew.

"Alright, lads, here's how things will go today. We'll all split up and search the town for any possible recruits. We'll meet back at the ship tomorrow at noon. And let's all get this straight; I DON'T WANT TO SEE ANY OF YOU BLOODY TWITS UNTIL TOMORROW! Got it?" By now the crew members had backed up at least three feet. They all nodded slowly, eyes wide in surprise at Pennyfeather's explosion. Perhaps the captain was in more stress than he showed, trying to keep the rascals aboard his ship under his control.

"Understood, captain. Move it, ladies!" said Briggs, giving Justin and Fred a shove. The two ran off, one to the left, one to the right. The burly gunner turned his head and looked at Jack. Jack put his hands up and started making his way to a pub behind them.

"I'm moving, I'm moving!" he said, now turning around into a full out run. Jack entered the tavern, which he now recognized as the Flintlock Pub, an old favorite of his. The bartender nodded to him.

"Welcome back, Jack! I haven't seen you in ages!" said the man. Jack now recognized the man.

"Hello, John! You wouldn't happen to know any people looking to join a pirate crew, by any chance, would ye?"

"Uh, sir? We would," said a voice from the corner. The Black Pearl's captain turned to see a man and a young woman stand up. Both had brown hair. The man had blue eyes, and the girl had green ones. The man was dressed in a plain beige tunic and green pants that had been cut off at the knees. His companion was likewise dressed in a light tan shirt, but wore an eye-patch and knee high black boots. A sword hung at each of their sides, and Jack could also see a knife barely sticking out of the boy's boots and the handle of a pistol in the girl's belt.

"Ah, just the sort of people I was looking for! What are your names, lad and lass?" said Jack with a smile. He was amazed that his job had been this easy.

"I'm Dexter, and this is my best friend Alley. We've both just joined the pirating business. Unfortunately, we don't have a ship," said Dexter.

"We're in the market, as it were," Alley added. There was something Jack liked about the two. Perhaps they were a little young, but Sparrow was sure that with some training they could become great pirates.

"Well, Dexter and Alley, I have a proposition for you. I am currently on board a ship called the Dragon's Rose, while I look to find and recapture me own ship, the Black Pearl. Perhaps you've heard of it? Anyway, the captain that is so graciously letting me stay aboard needs some tough and useful new crew members to help out. Savvy?" explained Jack.

"That sounds great! We'll take the job. Do we have an accord?" said Dexter, extending a hand to Jack. Jack grabbed it, and admired the boy's choice of words. Of course he would, it was his own usual sentence. He shook Dexter's hand.

"We have an accord. Let's stay at the inn for tonight. We leave for the Dragon's Rose tomorrow morning. It's docked just south of here," said Jack. Dexter and Alley nodded.

"And, you said your ship, the Black Pearl, has been taken? By what ship, do you know?" Dexter asked. Jack put his hand on his chin.

"Yes, it was the Prophet," he said. Dexter and Alley smiled at each other.

"We think we have a solution to your little problem. We know where the Prophet is." Jack could not believe his luck. This was definitely turning out to be a good day. Not only would Pennyfeather be pleased with the new crew members, Jack would also be able to find his ship and steal it back.


End file.
